


Heartbreak Heartache; Please Don't Go

by dandypuffs



Series: Don't go; Stay [1]
Category: Persona 4
Genre: M/M, mostly angst and has a tiny dash of fluff?, shadow souji is a dick to souji, so souyo is there just not explicit here i guess?, spoiler alert; souji cries, the souyo is mostly implied, this is the second part to a three part mini series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-30
Updated: 2019-08-30
Packaged: 2020-09-30 09:29:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20444909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dandypuffs/pseuds/dandypuffs
Summary: Souji didn’t yell back. He accepted it. Yosuke stood behind him.“Partner?”His voice was uncertain, he sounded worried.Souji ignored him.“You’re right. I am.”





	Heartbreak Heartache; Please Don't Go

**Author's Note:**

> This belongs to a mini-series based off of a haiku I wrote. This is part two so if it starts or ends abruptly to you then thats why. It's not beta read or anything and went through editing just not thoroughly at all. Feel free to leave constructive criticism? I'm in AP English and I'm hoping to get any writing advice and practice at all! Thank you!!!

His shadow screamed that he was useless, a failure, awful, a poser. 

Souji didn’t yell back. He accepted it. Yosuke stood behind him.

“Partner?”

His voice was uncertain, he sounded worried. 

Souji ignored him.

“You’re right. I am.” 

Souji could feel his perfect persona crumbling apart in front of the only person he knew wouldn't judge him. In front of his best friend. His _ partner. _

“You use them for your own gain. You could care less once you leave.”

Souji heard Yosuke gasp softly in disbelief. 

“Or at least,” the shadow directed his attention to Yosuke, still talking to Souji, “That's what you tell yourself. Isn’t it, leader.” 

Souji blinked, dropping his gaze to the floor. He remained silent. 

“He loves you all _ so much_,” Shadow Souji began to speak directly to Yosuke, seeming to hope to get a reaction this way.

“Once he leaves he’s going to have absolutely _ no one_. No friends. No family. And no _ Partner_. It’s going to _ kill him _to let you go.” 

If Souji weren’t in front of him, Shadow Souji would have draped himself over Yosuke. 

Souji scowled at his feet, refusing to give in to what his Shadow wanted. Refusing to say the three magic words. His fists were turning white and he could feel the skin in his palms begin to break due to how hard he had been clenching his fists. 

Something rested on Souji’s shoulder. The light pressure snapped him out of his stupor. 

“Souji.”

Souji turned to look at Yosuke, he flinched slightly when Yosuke’s eyes were wide with concern upon looking at his face.

He had one hand on Souji’s shoulder and used the other to wipe away tears that Souji didn’t even know were there. 

He choked back a sob, not willing to lose the last of his dignity. 

“You can do this, Partner. If anyone can do this, you can. I believe in you.”

Souji turned back to his shadow. He was nervous but quickly steeled his nerves. The first thing he noticed was how annoyed his shadow looked.

“I’m sorry.” 

It keeled over laughing.

“You’re sorry?”

Souji flinched harshly, going stiff. 

“No. No, you aren’t sorry. Or maybe you are. But no, not for the right reasons. You’re only sorry that you couldn’t keep this hidden until you left. But what then? What would you do once you left, huh? Everyone here knows that once you board that train it’s going to be game over for you. Once you board that train every day is going to be awful. As soon as you step into that lonely apartment. As soon as you go back to that dreaded city. This happy life you have will be over.”

Souji bit back the words he already promised himself he wouldn’t say. 

“You’re right,” he replied instead, “You’re right. Once I leave I’ll have nothing. Nothing at all and that terrifies me. It terrifies me so damn much.”

Angry tears began to spill at a quicker rate than before. 

“I’m not the strong capable leader that the group needs. I’m not strong, I know that now.”

Souji almost forgot Yosuke was with him.

Souji _ did _ forget Yosuke was with him. 

He forgot Yosuke was with him. He felt awful. He forgot about his partner. 

“Partner,” his voice was quiet, but confident, “if this is how you really feel then-”

Shadow Souji cuts him off. 

“Then _ what?! _ I’m pathetic? Girly? A loser? Awful? Gross? Not deserving? Not a leader? ** _NOT YOUR PARTNER?!” _ **

Souji looked to Yosuke, he looked pissed. He kept his composure and remained silent. 

** _“Just say it! Just say that you hate-”_ ** Shadow Souji didn’t get a chance to finish before a fist connected to his face. 

“_Don't you _ ** _dare _ ** _ put words into my mouth!” _

Souji realizes belatedly that he had never seen Yosuke so angry before.

“I _was going_ to say that I’m not letting you go back to the city! Not all that shit about hating you! God, Partner,” Yosuke turned away from Shadow Souji to Souji, “Do you… really think that I would hate you after seeing this?”

Souji refused to make eye contact but managed to nod regardless. Souji was the leader. He _needed_ to keep it together. 

“Partner…” Yosuke’s voice wavered with uncertainty. He took a breath and nodded, readying himself to ensure that he would not mess up whatever he was going to say next. 

“This part of you… It’s still you. I would never leave you because of something like this. You’re my best friend and you’re the only one who could ever possibly understand what I’m feeling like and what we all need to go through. You having these darker feelings that you’ve been hiding? That’s normal. You helped me when I had a hard time accepting the awful darker things about myself so…” He trails off, his eyes hardening with determination, “So I want to be there for you in return, Partner. If that means beating the living hell out of your shadow for you, then say the words and I have your back.” He met Souji’s gaze, his eyes blazing and set with a harsh determination, a light blush faded across his cheeks and a grin to encourage him to accept or deny the copy in front of them. 

“Yosuke. I… I don’t deserve you.”

His grin dropped a bit, and he scoffed. 

“What are you talking about? Of course, you do Souji.”

Souji turned to his shadow, who had been rubbing his face where Yosuke had punched him.

“You’re right,” Souji speaks softly, were the buzz of the TV world any louder he would have gone unheard, “I _am _going to fall apart as soon as I leave. I can’t lose them. I can’t lose _him. _ And you know that. I’m you and… you’re me.”

In a cloud of gold dust and sparkles, his shadow returned to its rightful form as Izanagi once again. 

Souji swayed, dangerously close to passing out. He had known that facing a shadow was tiring from watching all of his friends do it before he had, but never thought it to be so draining. 

“C’mon Partner,” Yosuke mumbled as he steadied Souji, and slipped an arm around him to keep him upright, “I bet you’re tired now. So let's get you home.”


End file.
